Environmental planning is a field of study that since the 1970s has been concerned with a given society's collective stewardship over its resources that ultimately includes those of the entire planet.[1] The aims of environmental planning are to integrate the public sectorurban planning with the concerns of environmentalism to ensure sustainable development, notably of air, water, soil and rock resources.[1] Planning seeks to include into consideration for future growth of society factors other than those urban planners have traditionally factored in economic development, such as transportation, sanitation, and other services in legislator decisions, by working with environmental planners to add sustainable (social, ecological & economic) outcomes as important factors in the decision-making process.

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What exactly constitutes the "environment", however, is somewhat open to debate among these practitioners, as is the exact scope of the intended environmental benefits. Chief concerns among environmental planners include the encouragement of sustainable development, green building technologies, and the preservation of environmentally sensitive areas.

An objective view of the environmental planning process is often framed in perspectives offered by the integration of assessments of the natural resources, the environment as a system, the scientific perspective, and the social scientific perspective.[4]

As with other forms of planning, the processes in environmental planning include distinct facets of organisational activity such as[5]:

The Association of Environmental Professionals (AEP) is a non-profit organization of interdisciplinary professionals including environmental science, resource management, environmental planning and other professions contributing to this field. AEP is the first organization of its kind in the USA, and its influence and model have spawned numerous other regional organizations throughout the United States. Its mission is to improve the technical skills of members, and the organization is dedicated to "the enhancement, maintenance and protection of the natural and human environment". From inception in the mid 1970s the organization has been closely linked with the maintenance of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), due to California being one of the first states to adopt a comprehensive legal framework to govern the environmental review of public policy and project review.

Environmental planning for communities: a guide to the environmental visioning process utilizing a geographic information system (GIS), United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, DIANE Publishing, Cincinnati, Ohio, 2000

Environmental planning and assessment act 1979, NSW, Australia (An Act to institute a system of environmental planning and assessment for the State of New South Wales.), Parliament of NSW, [1]